Why Arsenal fans should blame injuries and not Arsene Wenger’s lack of spending

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger did not spend any money in January (Picture: Reuters)

If you asked anyone for a reason why Arsenal’s season could fall apart, they would no doubt point to Arsene Wenger’s reluctance to spend money, specifically in the January transfer window.

It makes no difference that there were no players available to buy because either their parent clubs wouldn’t sell or the players themselves didn’t want to move.

A £30m bid for Schalke’s Julian Draxler after a £42.5m spend on Mesut Ozil just five months earlier would contradict the position that Wenger is a scrooge, but, still, it’s one many people hold on to. People feel safe with what’s familiar, regardless of whether it’s true or not.

But that’s not what could end up costing Arsenal in the end.

The news that Jack Wilshere will face six weeks on the sidelines with a hairline fracture in his left foot is a massive blow. Wilshere himself hasn’t been in the greatest of form and it could be argued that he needed to be rotated out of the squad for a bit, so it’s not so much his technical loss which will be felt keenly as the strain yet another injury will place on the rest of the squad.

Kim Kallstrom is said to be finally fit, but he’s never played in England before never mind played for Arsenal as part of a team which relies on almost telepathic knowledge of each other to pull off the moves they attempt. Aaron Ramsey is supposed to be one week away from a return after being sidelined since Boxing Day, but will his thigh hold up? Will Arsene Wenger have the luxury of easing him back in to the squad? It’s unlikely now due to Wilshere’s injury.

At the time of writing Arsenal are looking toward an FA Cup quarter final at home. They travel a few days later to Germany with a chance, no matter how small, of making the next round of the Champions League, and they are just four points off the top of the table in the Premier League.

The season has been better than most expected but what has been so remarkable is not that they have managed all this without the reinforcements many said they needed but that they have done it with a worse injury record than Manchester City and Chelsea combined.

Jack Wilshire has been ruled out for six weeks (Picture: Getty Images)

It seems no sooner does Arsenal get one player back from a serious injury than another is crocked. It is a never-ending cycle as the strain of so many injuries results in the overuse of other players leading to them breaking down as well.

Wilshere’s injury was in part bad luck and in part the result of stupidity. It was meaningless international friendly and he should have been taken off. It might not have made any difference but it certainly didn’t make it any better that he played on after the challenge. The game itself was an irrelevance which just makes the injury even more frustrating. Why Daniel Agger felt the need to challenge like that in a friendly is a debate for another day.

Should Arsenal fall at these final hurdles people will also, incorrectly, point to their inability to close out a season. Last year they put together the best run of any side in the country to squeeze Spurs out of the Champions League places. It is a fallacy that Arsenal collapse as the season wears on but at times you can’t argue with public perception which is formed by the media regardless of its relation to the truth.

If they fall, it will be because they have suffered more injuries than any squad could reasonably be expected to bear. That they have made it this far should be hailed by those who are paid to know better.

Lukas Podolski, Theo Walcott, Santi Cazorla, Mikel Arteta, Kieran Gibbs, Nacho Monreal, Thomas Vermaelen, Jack Wilshere, Tomas Rosicky, Mathieu Flamini, Mesut Ozil, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Bacary Sagna, Aaron Ramsey, Kim Kallstrom, Nicklas Bendtner and Yaya Sanogo have all missed parts of the season. Many of those injuries have been serious, resulting in lengthy absences. More often than not they came at the same time as many others.

If you can’t keep track, that’s every single midfielder in the Arsenal squad, five-sixths of their attack and more than half of their defence. 17 of their 23 outfield players have suffered at least one injury this season.

Name me a squad anywhere in the world that could cope with that and still be challenging for a league and cup double.

You won’t hear it mentioned should Arsenal fall away and you sure as hell won’t hear it lauded should they manage to confound all the critics in what remains of this season.

It is injuries which could be the downfall of this Arsenal squad, not transfer windows. This will never become the accepted narrative despite its truth in comparison to the lies which are commonly told.